Public schools serve 90 percent of America’s schoolchildren. By law, they are open to all, regardless of race, religion, economic status, gender, disability, etc. The men and women who work in our public schools can’t be fired for capricious reasons such as being the “wrong” religion or failure to adhere to religious tenets.

The Washington, D.C., voucher program, pushed by right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation, was approved by Congress in 2004. It was supposed to be a five-year experiment, but it keeps getting reauthorized – even though studies show it has not boosted student achievement.

No one minds when fundamentalist Christians attend the churches of their choice, interpret the Bible in a manner that pleases them or even when they spread their faith through voluntary channels. That is the promise of the First Amendment – but it is never enough for many of these folks.